A Sinuous Bond
by Sakurapi
Summary: Kouko, an orphan, is on the search for her sister who works under Orochimaru. She gets entangled with Naruto search for Sasuke. Naruto x OC, R&R. Following the Naruto manga/anime storyline.
1. Chapter 1: Enter Kouko

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters! Masashi Kishimoto does.

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"Are you really leaving, Kouko?"

The red-haired girl had looked over her shoulder, a small smile on her face. "Yeah, I'm really leaving." She had answered him before fully turning around. "Thank you for everything you have done for me. I really don't know how I can pay you back."

The elderly man had smiled at her words and then closed his eyes. "Come back to visit me and Tsukino. We'd like to hear of your travels and bring your sister when you find her."

Kouko had fought bravely not to let her tears fall as she had stood in middle of the forest path. "I will." She had bowed briefly and then turned to leave, letting out a long shaky sigh as she had walked forward. "Alright Kouko, you have a long way to go." She had sighed as she had closed her eyes for a few seconds.

_My name is Kouko and I'm from Kumogakure; the Village Hidden in the Clouds. I somehow found my way out in the Land of Fire after escaping Kumogakure for the past couple of years. I had left Kumogakure due to many reasons; because of my mother and because of my sister. Life was simple when I was a child. It was easy, and it was fun. In my home it was just my mother, sister, and I; all living together in peace for a while but things had changed. _

_My father had died when I was just a newborn, my sister being eight at the time. My mother had raised us the best that she could and I would never be more thankful for that. My mother was a beautiful woman, I remembered that much. She was tall, thin, and had beautiful red hair and the same eyes as mine. The woman was lovely, she loved me and my sister and I knew she had, but I could see the sadness in her eyes. She missed my father and for many nights she would cry in her room, her tears always landed on the picture she had taken with him. I never knew my father, I can't recall what his voice sounded like, and I only knew him by his face since all I can remember are pictures of him. _

_My sister would tell me about our father and how generous, strong, and humorous he was. I had envied how she had built a relationship with him and the expression her face when she had reflected on her memories with but I loved him too, he was my father. I didn't love him enough to shed tears for him because I never had the chance to know him. Even though my mother was wallowing in her sadness, growing depressed as time went on, I could see the life in her fading little by little. Of course, I didn't understand what I was seeing when I was a child but when I look back on it now; I knew my mother was going to die but not as I thought she would._

_My mother started to become dangerous, not towards me or my sister, but to herself. She would not eat, she barely slept, and she would always sit by the fireplace. She stopped teaching her students, they would often come and visit her and shower her with concern and pity. I would just watch her, waiting for her to go back to her normal self, but a part of me always knew that she wouldn't be normal. My mother was gone. My mother was no longer my mother, she was another woman. A sad woman; a woman who I couldn't save because I didn't know what I could save her from, but if I had the strength and courage that I had now… I would've tried my best to save her… yet she was already far gone. One night, she had set the house on fire. I smelled the smoke, I saw the flames licking the walls of my room and I saw my mother standing at the doorway. Her eyes looked blank like an unpainted canvas, tears staining her face. She walked towards me, her arms slithering around me to pull me into an embrace. She told me she was sorry, she wanted to be with my father. We could all be a family again._

_I didn't understand the concept of death as a child for it was never fully explained to me. All I knew was that when people died, they were never seen again, and there was no way to bring them back. Did I want to die? I questioned that and as the flames grew stronger, my mother's embrace tighter, I didn't know what to think of it. All I did was stared at the ceiling, watching the bright orange and yellow flames engulf my home. My arms hanging at the sides, my heart clenching, and tears falling down my eyes and I didn't even know why. Why was I crying? Why was I afraid? I wanted to meet my father, I wanted to be with my mother and sister forever, and so why did I feel like running away? That somehow this wasn't right. I stayed there, confused, and unsure how to cope with this whole situation but once my sleeve had caught fire, my arm being burned along with it. I screamed, I pushed my mother away, and I escaped. I ran out of my home, pressing my arm to the ground and rolling over and over until the flames had died._

_What happened to my sister? I didn't know but I assumed that she had escaped the fire. I just watched my home burn to the ground, my mother burning along with it, and even though I cried and cried for days my home was no longer standing, my mother no longer with me... I was still happy that I was alive. I didn't want to die; I guess I didn't want to meet my father after all. At least, not like that I didn't. People came and looked at the devastation, they all assumed that I had died along with my mother and called the fire an accident. I didn't make myself known, I hid behind bushes and watched as people laid flowers as a memorial for my mother and I. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how I was going to survive on my own. I was alone and there was no one to take care of me, but I knew I could take care of myself. I didn't need anyone else. And so, after a few days I had gone to my house and picked up a picture of my sister. And of one of my mother father, I tucked them into my pajama pockets. I promised them and myself that I was going to be fine._

_I had stolen food from the marketplace, people would chase me and threatened me as I ran from them. I knew what I was doing was wrong, but it was the only way that I could get food to eat and water to drink. I was too young to work and I didn't have anyone to turn to and so this was my only way of keeping myself together and strong enough to get through the day. Eventually I was caught and when they asked me where my parents were, I told them that they were dead. And that's when they took me the orphanage, telling me that I wasn't the only child who didn't have parents. That there were other children like me and that I would be able to have friends and that I would be able to fit in. I felt happy that I would be able to meet other children like me, that I wasn't the only one who had no one to rely on. When I entered the orphanage however, things weren't like I expected for them to be._

_I had a roof over my head, food to eat, clothes to wear, but the children weren't very kind to me. Since I never talked to anyone other than my mother,sister, and those people who asked who my parents were, I wasn't able to communicate well. I was very quiet, independent, and never talked to the other children. Some of them thought that I was snobbish, that I just plain thought I was too good enough for them. And so I was bullied and teased for a while. The pushing, the teasing, the pranks were annoying but I had handled them with stride. If I acted unaffected for a while, they would stop picking on me and go on to the next poor kid. All I could do was ignore them and do my chores, hoping that one day that I would be able to get out of here. In fact, there were many chances of me being taken in by a family but the other children kept ruining it for me. They would make up crazy rumors of how I was troublesome for the mother of orphanage, I bullied other children and that I was some sort of untrained animal. It drove people away and to thinking that I was nothing but a problem child._

_But finally one couple adopted me; Tsukino and Jirou. They adopted me despite the cruel rumors. Tsukino had said that she knew I wasn't like anything the other children had said. I don't know what she saw in me but they had taken me in. Jirou had trained me in ninjutsu, picking up where my mother had left off and the academy days. I had spent vigorous hours and days training so that I could protect myself. Now, at sixteen, I__ had heard rumors of Momoka, my sister, of working for Orochimaru, a well known s-ranked criminal. And so I decided to look for her and my journey starts here in the Land of Fire._


	2. Chapter 1: Sasuke and Suigetsu

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters! Masashi Kishimoto does.

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Kouko had fiddled with letter in her hand; she had read it over and over again. This letter was the reason why she had left home and it was one step closer to her sister. She had followed the directions of the letter, arriving upon the entrance that was at the foot of a rock formation. She had found her way in, looking around the dimly lit halls as she had felt herself growing paranoid by the second. What if it was a trap? She should've considered it but when it came to her sister, she was blind; foolishly blind.

She had taken a step and walked down the halls of the strange, cold, and dreary place. It was sudden but she had felt a presence zooming in close to her, she had pulled her sword out of her scabbed on time to hear the clinging of metal. She had seen a pair of black eyes staring back in hers. It was a boy; he had to be around her age or even the same age as he had pushed his sword against hers. "Who are you?" He questioned before he had jumped back, placing the sword back in its scabbard. She knew that he wasn't finished with her though, that was just the way of Iaido.

With tight, deliberate purpose, Kouko had gripped her sword, Bishamonten. It whispered through the air as she had raised it to an attack stance. "Hmph." The dark-haired male had grinned as she had prepared herself, her eyes studying all of his movements.

Kouko had launched herself towards him. With all her weight behind the blade, she had struck at his neck. "Nn!" He groaned as he had unsheathed his sword in time and flicked it up to catch Kouko's. For a moment, they were evenly matched—

And then he was thrown back.

He was surprised that she had managed to overpower him from the look on his face, she guessed it was the first time he had found himself outmatched in Kenjutsu. What did he expect? She was from Kumogakure, and there were plenty of excellent Kenjutsus users there. But he was utterly stunned.

Kouko, however, didn't let that opening go to waste. She pushed forward, her sword hissing back and forth through air as if it was possessed by an enraged demon. His sword had caught her again. "Guh!" Just moments ago his face had been calm and serene—now it was warped with frustration and surprise.

She, by contrast, wore a manic grin and her blade slammed again and again into his with more strength than she allowed herself to show. "Who are you?" He asked as he tried to push her back.

"My name is Wakahisa, Kouko. I received a letter from my sister, Momoka."

He had jumped back, sheathing his sword. She was surprised that he had stopped the fight but she assumed he only wanted to fight her because he thought she was an enemy. "Momoka?" He had raised his hand from drawing his sword, they had limply stayed at his sides. She had sighed as she had placed her sword back in her scabbard. "She left days ago."

Kouko's eyes had widened and then a look of disappointment came across her face. "…I'm too late." She had mumbled. "Do you know where Momoka went?"

The dark-haired male had shaken his head, leaving the red-head to ponder where her sister had gone off in such a hurry. She just received the letter two days ago, how could she expect her to move so fast? "Orochimaru probably knows." He had said as he had turned away from her, leaving her to wonder if he was going to leader her to the direction of Orochimaru or to retrieve him or to leave her to look for him herself. "Orochimaru is busy, I suggest you wait."

He had then left her, the darkness swallowing him as he walked out of the room and she was standing there by herself. Her eyes had traveled back down to the letter in her hand as she had held it with shaking hands. All she had to do was wait here for Orochimaru, the notorious s-ranked ninja that everyone had heard so much about. He was known for his experiments and his abilities to take host of a person's body. In all honesty, she had hoped that he didn't want Momoka's body. She didn't know how strong had sister had gotten over the years, so she wondered if she was even a possibility for him.

She had suddenly heard footsteps, which had made her eyes look from the paper and in front of here. The same way where the boy had left, a tall man had come from. When he was in plain view, she knew that the man in front of her was Orochimaru. He was extremely pale, possibly whiter than snow itself with waist-length black hair that was like the color of coal. His face was long but his cheek bones were pronounce, but the most captivating part about him was his eyes that were slit and golden like a snake's.

"Are you…" Kouko had begun to say, "O-Orochimaru?"

The man had gave her a sly grin, which didn't rest easy on her. Her heart was racing as she was afraid because she knew what he was capable of. "You're Kouko, Momoka's little sister, are you not?"

She had nodded, "S-She told me to come here but a boy said that she had left days ago…"

"Yesss," He had hissed. "She waited a week for you to arrive, I'm assuming her letter didn't arrive on the exact time. She has business with the Akatsuki and so she couldn't stick around longer."

The Akatsuki? Just how deep did her sister go in the dark end? The Akatsuki were trouble, they were killers. "When will she be back?" Kouko had asked him.

"That," He had paused for a few minutes, "I do not know."

What was she supposed to do now? She just reach a dead end. She wasn't here, she didn't know when Momoka would be back here and there was no reason for to stay here if there was a possibility that she wouldn't come back. "I see…" Kouko had said quietly.

Soon enough, the red-head had walked forward, leaving the large room with the snake statue. As she had went down the hall, she had seen the boy that she had fought leaning against the wall. She had looked at him briefly before continuing on ahead. "How about you and I make a deal?" She had stopped walking and looked at him over her shoulder.

"A deal?" She repeated, "A deal for what?" She questioned.

He had kept his eyes closed, "I'm looking for the Akatsuki, one member in particular. I could lead you to your sister." Her eyes had widened, "If you lend me your strength."

Something about this didn't sound right, "What do you need me for?"

"To kill Itachi Uchiha." Just the name made her dead silent. She had looked away from him and looked down at the floor, "If you lend me your strength then I will help you find your sister."

Kouko had thought about it. She knew that she'll never find Momoka on her own, it was a given. She could not track the Akatsuki down; many people had and did not succeed. What would make her any different? "There's no other catch, right?"

"No." He said simply.

She had inhaled deeply and exhaled. "Then we have a plan."

"But first, I have something to take care of." He had pushed himself off the wall and then walked ahead of her.

She had then took a step forward, "What's your name?"

He had stopped walking. "Sasuke Uchiha." He then started walking again, leaving her bewildered.

"Sasuke… Uchiha?" She had repeated, placing her hand on her face. "…That name sounds familiar." She had then ran forward, following after him. "Where do you want me to wait? I know I can't leave here… This is a hideout and I know about it."

He had looked over his shoulder, "Just find a room and stay in it." Sasuke had said simply as she had looked to her right at an empty room. She had looked back at him as he had continued walking and went in, opening the door and closing it behind her.

It was empty save for a lonely cot. She had sat down and let out a sigh, "What am I doing? As soon as someone mentions Momoka, I blindly trust it." Kouko had placed her hand on the side of her head, scratching the random itchy spot.

She could hear laughs and coughs echo through the halls, which made her believe that Orochimaru had to be up to something. She had immediately stood and went to the door, pressing her ear against it. She had listened on and heard something being broken. "What's going on out there?"

_"But first, there's something I have to take care of."_

Her eyes had widened as she had remembered Sasuke's words. Was he going to kill Orochimaru? Maybe she was thinking too outrageously. Orochimaru was strong, very strong, but he seemed weak now as she had remembered the coughing fits.

"What have I gotten myself into?" Kouko had whispered, "But if I leave, I'm sure I'll have to fight my way out." She had said, "If I wait for Sasuke, if Sasuke even makes it out alive… I might just be able to find Momoka."

With a sigh, she had opened the door and walked down the halls, trying to find out what was going on. "Before my name, your methods of obtaining the power of an Uchiha are laughable at best. Also, I dislike your methods. What is your goal? After we transferred to a new hideout, you repeatedly continued to experiment. You've been toying with life after life."

Her eyes widened as she had listened to the Uchiha speak. _'Toying with life after life? Exerpiments? No wonder people feared Orochimaru…. And Momoka is a part of this?'_

"To reveal and divulge in the truth of this world or whatever, for your own selfish reasons, you view people as toys and continue to play with them. You disgust me!"

Her views of the Uchiha had changed, in fact, she didn't think he was bad at all. He was fighting, he was going to kill Orochimaru for all the horrible things he had done. So siding with him didn't seem like a bad thing, but what she didn't understand was why he wanted to kill Itachi. They were related with the Uchiha name, were they brothers?

She had narrowed her eyes and then ran back into the room, if she had stayed there then she would get trapped into their fight and lord knows she didn't think in the slights that she could face Orochimaru head on.

Kouko had her back against the door as she could hear the sounds of battle ensuing. When it had suddenly became quiet, she had wondered if the battle was over.

The door had suddenly opened and she had seen the Uchiha, she had looked at him with wide eyes as he had then turned away from her and began to walk. She had swallowed her own saliva and followed him, looking at him as he didn't appear like he had broken so much of a sweat.

It was safe to assume that Sasuke had won.

For now, she decided not to say anything because she wasn't sure exactly of what to say. 'Good job for winning?' or 'Thanks for killing Orochiamru?' everything sounded stupid and wrong, and that's why she had kept quiet. "We're going to retrieve someone."

Her eyes had looked from the floor as she had looked up at him, "Retrieve someone?" She had questioned.

"Someone that will also lend me their strength." He had put it simply.

Kouko had nodded, knowing that asking who it was wouldn't do her any justice. She doubted she knew the person. So instead, she remained silent as they had went to an underground laboratory. It was dark save for the lights of the water filled cylinders all around them with many wires connected to them.

She had looked around curiously as they had went further in the lab until they had seen on huge cylinder by itself. Sasuke had stopped in front of it and she had stood beside him. "So it's you, after all." The voice from the water had said, surprising her. "And with a friend~" Kouko had looked at Sasuke and then at what she dubbed the talking water. "Since you came here, I take it that you defeated Orochimaru."

"Yeah." Sasuke had said, he had then lowered his sword as he had grasped onto the hilt. Kouko had watched his movements. "More important, I'll let you out of here." He drew his sword so fast that she didn't even see it, he even moved her so quickly as to move her out of the way as wave of water came flooding out of the large crack he had made on the glass cylinder.

"I'm finally out." Kouko had looked behind them to see a mop of white hair and bare shoulders. _'There was a person in the water but I didn't see—'_ "Thanks, Sasuke."

"Suigetsu, you were my intended first. Come with me." Kouko had looked at Sasuke as he had spoke as he peered over his shoulder at the boy named Suigetsu.

"So I was supposed to be the first? How did the girl get here?" Her eyes then looked to Sugetsu as he was coming from out the water, but he was—she had immediately look away, her face flushed a brilliant shade of red. "That means we'll have more company?"

"Two more." Sasuke had said, "Juugo from the northern and Karin from the southern hideout."

"Really?" He said as he had finally taken his whole body from out of the water but Kouko kept her eyes averted. "It's just that I'm not very fond of them. I don't think I'll get along very well with those two. And, I don't know anything about the girl that's with you." He had grinned as he had said so. "Myself aside, I wonder what you plan to do after retrieving those two, Sasuke."

"Your blabbering is pissing me off." Sasuke replied with his eyes closed. "Put on some clothes. Let's go." He had turned and walked away, Kouko had kept her eyes averted from Suigetsu and followed after him.

Suigetsu laughed. "Speaking like you're better than me, are you?" He had then disappeared and appeared behind Sasuke, his finger pressing against Sasuke's temple. "Let's make our relationship clear…" He squinted his eyes, "Okay?"

She covered her eyes, already seeing more of his naked backside than she would've liked. _'Why is he naked? Oh my God, I saw his butt. I SAW HIS BUTT!'_ She had mentally freaked out.

"Sorry, but you helped me due to your own convenience. I haven't said a single word about coming with you. You're not above me just because you defeated Orochimaru." Suigetsu went on, Kouko had listened as she had wondered if Suigetsu would join them or not. "Everyone was after him. As his favorite toy, you were by his side, unshackled. You simply had a better chance at killing him than the rest of us. As if! I'm just kidding." He had said playfully. "But since I'm letting you live here, I don't owe you anything for rescuing me anymore. I'm finally free. I'll do what I feel like." He had walked away from Sasuke.

Kouko had slowly spread her fingers apart and looked through them, "I see. How unfortunate." Sasuke had simply said. "Kouko." He called her as she had ran forward, walking atop of the water that was everywhere. She had followed behind Sasuke quietly.

Suigetsu had walked in front of Kouko, who was re-covered her eyes with her hands. "Never seen a naked guy before, huh?" He had said with a teasing smile, "Who is she by the way, Sasuke?"

"Momoka's younger sister, Kouko." Sasuke had answered truthfully.

The boy had hummed, "Oh! The nice red-head with the great rack, yeah?!" He had remembered as Kouko narrowed her eyes at his words. "She did mention she had a sibling." He had said, "And she does look like her." He had leaned forward, sniffing Kouko.

"Can you please put on some clothes?" The girl whined, "I don't…There are some things I wish not to see."

"What? Afraid of the male anatomy?" Suigetsu had teased before disappearing back into the water. Kouko had hurried had grabbed the back of Sasuke's shirt, keeping her eyes closed.

He had looked over at his shoulder as her head was lowered, obviously trying to shield herself from seeing Suigetsu's naked body again. He had let out a small 'hmph' and continued walking.

They had made it outside, a path of a forest they were now trekking on. Kouko had sighed in relief to be out in fresh air and let go of the Uchiha's kimono and walked beside him instead. "Come to think of it, it was your team, right?" Kouko had jumped as she had seen the white-haired boy rise from the water of the extremely large puddle. "The ones who defeated my great senpai, Momochi Zabuza." He had dived into the water and swam around.

He was _too_ strange.

"I wonder what happened to Zabuza's sword, the Throat Cleaver?" He asked. Sasuke had simply stared at him as Kouko looked at the grinning boy with shark-like teeth as he swam across the puddle. "Let's do it like this… If you lead me to the sword and I get it, I guess I won't mind helping you." He had swam towards the edge of the puddle, Kouko's eyes growing bigger as she had hoped he didn't come out of the water.

Sasuke closed his eyes and gave a nod before walking across the surface of the lake and Kouko had followed behind him shortly. "Put on some clothes." Sasuke said again.

"Please?" Kouko begged.

The white-haired boy had sighed, "Fine."

**/**

"Ah, it's the ocean!" Kouko had said happily as she had inhaled the ocean air.

Suigetsu had grinned, "You like the ocean Kouko?"

"Mm, it's been a long time since I've seen it so I feel a little nostalgic." She had answered.

"The Land of Waves is probably your cup of tea then." He said as he had sipped the straw of his water bottle. "The ocean is everywhere."

Kouko was in awe, "It would be different than growing up in the mountain or just a forest."

They had stopped upon the entrance of a bridge and looked up at the sign, which had given away the name of it. Sasuke had smirked as Suigetsu read it aloud, "The Great Naruto Bridge?" Kouko had raised a brow, "What a strange name."

"Mm, it was named after someone? They must've done something really great." The red-head had said as she folded her hands behind her.

"Not everything named after someone was because someone accomplished something great. In that case, my name should be everywhere!" The purple-eyed boy had said playfully as Kouko had chuckled. His attention then went to Sasuke. "So, tell me, was Zabuza-senpai strong?" Her eyes had then glanced towards Sasuke who looked to be deep in thought. "What's wrong, Sasuke? Sasuke?"

He had then leaned his head forward, his eyes fixated on the path before him. "Nothing. Let's go." Sasuke had walked ahead of them while Kouko and Suigetsu looked at each other in confusion. Suigetsu merely sighed and shrugged while Kouko walked alongside him.

They had walked across the bridge and silence, Kouko was too busy looking at the vastness of the ocean and then at the village around the bridge. Suigetsu continued to sip from his water bottle without much of a care. "Wait, where are we going?"

"Yeah, Sasuke, where are we going?" Suigetsu asked.

Sasuke was quiet for a few moments before he spoke, "Zabuza's grave. That was where his sword was place."

Both of them had nodded their heads understandingly and followed, they had walked through a forest and then reached a cliff where two graves were. There was no sword in sight however. "It's not here." Suigetsu had stated the obvious. "Hey, Sasuke… was it really here?"

"Yeah." Sasuke answered.

"But it's gone." The boy made of water pointed out, "How could it have happened?"

Kouko had then hummed, "So someone stole it?"

"Beats me. It's not like I'm a grave-guardian." The Uchiha said without so much of a care. "As Kouko said, if it's gone, somebody must've taken it."

"I guess so." Suigetsu had looked back at the grave, "It's not like it grew legs and ran way." He had then walked towards them. "Sasuke, sorry, but since that sword isn't here, coming with you is postponed."

The kunoichi had looked Sasuke, who didn't seem fazed but then again when did he looked fazed by anthing? They had left the gravesite and went towards the town, walking on a smaller bridge. "What do you intend to do?" Sasuke asked Suigetsu.

With his arms over his head, he had given Sasuke a grin. "I'm gonna search for it, obviously. For generations, the Seven Swordsmen had a system where they passed down their swords. I admired those seven and was trained by them. So now that Zabuza-senpai is gone, that Throat Cleaver belongs to me."

"The sword must been really great since you want it that baldy." Kouko pointed out, "Was Zabuza your favorite senpai?" She had asked him.

Before Suigetsu could answer her, a man with a strange hat had bumped into him. Kouko had gasped, "Where the hell are you looking while walking? You retarded asshole." It was clear that the sharp teeth boy was pissed, he had raised his hand to point at the rude man but Sasuke had grabbed his wrist and stood in front of him. The man had then came back, "Hey, hey! You got a probably with me, bud—"

Kouko had looked to Sasuke as he had given the man a cold stare but what happened next was strange. The man had then began to move in reverse, his words backwards as he had moved like everything was being rewinded."…Ehhhhh?" Kouko ad said in confusion.

"You're quite the kind guy, Sasuke." Suigetsu had whispered as Kouko had looked at him in confusion. "So.. how are you gonna make up for hindering my revenge there?"

"Sasuke, you did that?" Kouko had questioned as his dark eyes were now on her.

Sasuke merely looked at her few a minutes, which meant that he had obviously did it. He didn't even have to answer. "Are you two talking with your eyes? Don't leave me out!" Suigetsu hollered playfully. "Sasuke, you'll have to treat Kouko and I to some yogurt."

"Yogurt?" Kouko repeated, blinking twice before looking at Suigetsu. "Why yogurt?"

He had then placed his arm around the red-head, her eyes looking up at him as he had gave her a large, toothy grin. "Because yogurt is great, that's why! C'mon!" He said as he had pulled her towards the local restaurant with Sasuke following behind. She wasn't sure how the Uchiha felt about it, but he didn't refuse.

When they made their way inside the restaurant, Suigetsu had slid in a booth and Kouko had sat beside him while Sasuke sat opposite of them. One young girl, around their age, had came over with a blush on her face. "W-What would you like?" She had asked in a mousy manner.

"Some yogurt for this one and I, Sasuke you want someone?" He had asked the Uchiha, who continued to stare at him with a blank expression. "I guess not."

The girl had scribbled it down on a notepad and occasionally stole glances at Sasuke. Kouko had sighed as she had looked at Suigetsu, "It's been a while since you had food, hm?"

He had nodded in reply, "I was trapped in that place for a long time." He had sighed as he had then rested his arm on the table. "So, what are you doing traveling with Sasuke?"

"He's going to help me find Momoka." She had answered truthfully, "But he said he needed my strength for something." Since Sasuke didn't tell Suigetsu is goal, she kept quiet about it. Maybe he didn't want to repeat it again and wanted to wait until everyone was assembled.

The sharp teeth boy gave a hum. "Last time I seen Momoka was a long time ago." He had looked up in thought, "She's nicer than that conniving Kabuto and that bitch Karin."

"So, she wasn't… mean or cruel… or evil?" Kouko questioned, "She was friendly?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "I dunno. I wasn't around her enough to know what Orochimaru was usin' her for."

Her eyes had looked down at the table in subtle disappointment. "I see…" She replied.

Before he could say anything else, the same waitress had returned and placed two glasses of yogurt with spoons in front of Kouko and Suigetsu. "H-Here's your order!" She had then scurried off, leaving Kouko confused. Suigetu had scooped up the dairy treat and put it in his mouth.

Of course he had exaggerated it as he had a goofy smile on his face, "This yogurt is the best!"

Her peach eyes had looked over at him as she had tried to contain her laugh. She had then looked at her own glass and scooped up some of the yogurt and tasted it. Her eyes had widened and a goofy grin formed on her face as well, "This is really good!"

"You're fine with goofing off here?" Sasuke finally spoke, both of them looking at him.

"Like, aren't you the one in a hurry." Suigetsu said as he had pointed his cleaned off spoon at him. "What's the plan once our little adventure group is set?" He questioned.

"I'll let you know when all three of you are together." Sasuke replied as Kouko had looked down at her yogurt, taking another spoonful.

The other boy had hummed. "Alright, we'll take which is beneath the heavens!" He playfully jeered, "Or something like that…"

"You guys can go and take whatever you want." Kouko had sucked on the spoon, her eyes looking at the dark-haired boy as he said his curt reply. "What I'll be doing is something far greater."

Suigetsu had briefly scratched his head with his spoon, "Had anyone else said something like that, I'd never believe them, but… you have quite the silver tongue. I could believe that, but it'd be a stretch."

"Can we get a few rounds of more yogurt!" Suigetsu had shouted towards the waitresses, who had nodded hurriedly as they were group together. Kouko had finished off her yogurt and then turned to see Suigetsu leaning in close to her.

"You're being awfully generous." She had said with much suspicion, "Why?"

He appeared offended by her words, "I'm a nice person! I'm very generous!" He huffed as he had looked away, "And when a lady is in presence, you have to show respect, right Sasuke?"

The Uchiha remained silent as his arms were folded. "Now you're showing respect after you tried to talk to me while you were naked? That's sounds very hypocritical to me."

Suigetsu had pouted, "Hey… My clothes weren't around at the time; I just don't magically make clothes appear."

She still looked at him skeptically, "Right.."

Her attention then focused to what appeared to be a different waitress with a tray of yogurt. Her eyes were glued to the Uchiha, her face slightly flushed. "Hey, sweet, about the Great Naruto Bridge… Would you know anything about a big sword that was near it?"

Kouko had watched how the girl seemed nervous, which confused her. The waitress' eyes had looked down at the yogurt, back at Sasuke shyly. "Yeah. Um, when you mention it, there was something like that…" Her eyes then focused to Suigetsu, "What about it?"

Suigetsu had pointed his spoon at Sasuke while grabbing the yogurt of the tray, "This fellow is searching for it."

"No he's—" Suigetsu had covered her mouth once he placed the yogurt on the table.

The waitress nearly dropped the metal tray, "What?!" She quickly caught it and shook, "U-Um, maybe someone else knows… so I'll go ask!"

She had ran away eagerly, both Suigetsu and Kouko looking at the girl like she was crazy with dumbfounded expression. "Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" The group of girls had squealed, Suigetsu hand had uncovered Kouko's mouth as they continued to stare at the girls.

"You're quite the player, eh?" He said jokingly to Sasuke.

"Player?" Kouko had then put the pieces together, "Sasuke has fangirls!"

Just then, four girls had grouped together and hovered over Sasuke. "Ask Tazuna! He lives at the riverside!"

"I'm sure he knows!" Another had said.

"Tazuna, huh?" Sasuke had said as Kouko wondered if Sasuke knew who they were talking about.

Once Suigetsu had finished his last yogurt, they had all stood and made their way out of the restaurant and went to search for Tazuna. "Who's this Tazuna?" Suigetsu finally asked.

"He's the chief carpenter who made that bridge." Sasuke had answered.

They had found one of the workers who had explained that Tazuna wasn't in the Land of Waves and went to the Lightning Country. "Kumo?" Kouko had looked down at her feet.

Both Suigetsu and Sasuke caught her sad expression but looked back at the man, "He took Inari with him and left for some bridge construction work. He won't be back for a year."

"The Lightning Country? That's far…" Suigetsu sighed as he had looked to Sasuke.

"Do you know anything about a big sword near the Great Naruto Bridge?" The Uchiha questioned the worker.

The man had wiped his neck with a towel as he answered. "Oh, that… Daikoku Tenzen took it with him." He had then rested the towel around his shoulders, one hand on his hip. "The truth is he came here only to capture the ninja that used that sword. But when the ninja died, he took the sword instead."

They had nodded and left, "Daikoku Tenzen, who is that?" Kouko sighed, "It's seems like we're moving in one big circle." She had folded her arms.

"I know, and I'm beat." Suigetsu said as he had rubbed side of his head. "But I know that guy; he used to be a close aide of the Water Country's Feudal Lord. Apparently, a whole bunch of his subordinates got killed when Zabuza-senpai launched his coup d'état in Kirigakure." Both Sasuke and Kouko had looked at Suigetsu as he had explained, "He must've held a grudge for that."

And again, the same man from before had bumped into Suigetsu. "Where are your eyes at, asshole?!"

"Hey," Suigetsu raised his hand, "I've been looking for you!"

"Grah!" The man began to run but Suigetsu had grabbed the back of his jacket and pulled him towards the alley and into some trash. "W-What do you guys want?!"

Suigetsu had placed on hand on his hip with a smile. "Well, you're going to give us some information."

"I don't know anything about Tenzen!" The purple-hat male barked.

"How do you know we were going to ask about Tenzen?" Kouko had questioned curiously, the eyes of the vulgar male had widened. "Why don't you just tell what you _do_ know?"

The white-haired boy had whistled, "Kouko gettin' feisty, eh?" He had then raised a sharp, polished kunai and raised is threateningly with his manic smile on his face as he had looked down towards the male. "Ehh?"

"Da-Daikoku Tenzen is a politician, but that's just his face on the surface." He began to spill the beans. "Underneath that, he's the leader of a group of thieves. He gives the Feudal Lord huge amounts of bribes, and I heard he commits a lot of crimes for his own gain."

Suigetsu had then pointed the kunai at the man, "You're well informed." He leaned closer, "So, where does he live?"


End file.
